J O U R N E Y
by Love Is a Myth
Summary: When you're 30 and someone says "i love you" it'll be the day you get married; when you're 40 and someone says "i love you" it will be your rebound after divorce; when you're 50 and someone says "i love you" you'll ask "Why?"


**I don't own Naruto**

**Please enjoy!**

_**T H E J O U R N E Y**_

_When you're 15 someone's going to say "I love you" and you'll believe them._

"I love you."

"wh-what? Are you feeling alright?"

"I just said I love you and you question my sanity?" he asked incredulous, with that same smirk on his face that I've always loved and cherished. Is this really happening? Please tell me this isn't a dream because that would be just too cruel!

"Sakura, this isn't a dream."

"H-how did you know what I was thinking?!" I shouted embarrassing myself further, resulting in my face looking like a tomato. I bet he's laughing inside right now, **stupid sakura!**

"Oh, trust me I'm not laughing inside because if I were laughing around you I'd do it freely 'cause you're with me…." He said his voice playful yet soft.

"what?! Am I saying it out lou—" if I thought my face couldn't get any redder it just did because of the next words he said.

"And…. _I love tomatoes_, remember?" he said smirking, the last thing I saw as his lips connected with mine. It was soft, sweet, everything I thought my first kiss would be and it was.

'_if this is all a dream than I hope I never wake up.'_ I thought as I felt those words I have longed to say, come out

"I love you too, Sasuke-kun."

_When you're 20 someone will say "I love you" and you'll take advantage of them, to get a one night stand._

The strobe lights were blinding and the music blaring inside the club. I wasn't even supposed to be here, I should be at home studying for my bar exam, but nooo, ino-pig just had to drag me out here, _then_ leave me all alone. I should have known that this will happen. *sigh _maybe I could escape and just leave pig here, she seems fine dancing with her boy toy tight across the room….. _I thought as I took another sip of my cosmopolitan, it did taste great, but really I'm bored and I need to study for that exam….

"Why is a beautiful lady such as yourself, all alone in this place?" a deep alluring baritone said

"Gaara?!" I asked surprised when I looked up to find _gaara _of all people to be in a club.

"What are you doing here?!"

"Shouldn't I be asking you that, sakura? Don't you have a bar exam to study for?"

"Well I was _supposed_ to study but then ino dragged me here, and you know no one can oppose that is the force called ino!" I said trying to sound melodramatic, it felt just like the old times, the both of us chatting and laughing about what was happening with our lives. I missed these talks, when did it stop again? Was it when I moved or when sasu—_he_ broke my heart?

*sigh _I can't believe it! Even after __**five**__ years, i still couldn't get over the fact that Sasuke cheated on me and __then__ proceeded to dump me…._

"sakura? Are you still there?"

"Huh? Oh yeah, I'm here Gaara, just spaced out for a bit there…."

"Thinking about him again, huh?"

"What are you talking about gaara? Why would I do that, when I have a strapping gentleman as yourself to accompany me in this lovely evening?" I said trying to evade the discussion and tried to humor him by engaging in our old banter, it was quite funny how our inside joke started really, we were just bored one English morning, discussing Shakespeare and this is what we came up with…. Ah good times, good times..

"Sakura, don't try to avoid the—"

"Why don't we go dance? I feel like busting the moves!" I said standing up from my stool, right after I downed the last of my drink, and then taking is hand to lead him to the dance floor….

While we were dancing, I felt the alcohol take its effect on me, damn I knew I shouldn't have had those margaritas before that cosmopolitan…..

I felt my legs give out under me, good thing Gaara was there to catch me…..

…

_Hmm,_ _what happened?_ I thought while feeling that somebody was stroking my hair….

"You scared me there, sakura. I thought something bad happened to you…… but I guess you're still the same old sakura seeing as you still can't hold your alcohol…." He said chuckling

I felt tick marks appearing in my head, but I guess he _is_ right, I really couldn't hold my alcohol. But now it's payback time, good thing I didn't open my eyes yet so he still thinks I'm asleep, but it is surprising that he talks to me when I sleep….. now I'll just suddenly surprise him but how…..

"But I guess that's why I love you…"

Woah! Now THAT definitely surprised me…. He… loves…._me?!_ I thought as my mind was flooded of images of the past and _him_ telling me how much he loves me…… _to be truthful, _

_It __**hurt.**_

So maybe that's partly the reason why I did what I did at that time….

I kissed him, not the sweet and simple kind- oh god no, not that never that, I already swore that off- it was the heavy, rough, needy kind, and it was something that I knew I shouldn't have subjected him to. I can't believe I was taking advantage of him –and he was letting me!- right after he just told me he loved me- albeit the fact that he thought I was asleep( coward)- but still this is wrong!

Yet in the morning after, I found myself creeping away silently out of his condominium while he was asleep, because I woke up in his arms, feeling warm, loved and _disgusted with myself. _

_How could I have done that to him?!_ I thought while hailing a cab, looking back, one last time at his condominium building, wishing that I never see him again, because I won't be able to stand myself and keep myself together…..

_**Goodbye Gaara.**_

_When you're 30 and someone says "I love you" it'll be the day you get married._

*breathe in, breathe out* sigh. _Today is the day. My day. The day I marry Naruto, my bestfriend, my confidant and now my-groom-to-be or in this case my husband in a few more minutes…._

"Thinking of backing out, forehead?"

"You wish, pig"

"Now that's the spirit, good to see you aren't planning on being a runaway bride!"

"Why would I want to runaway? I'm might just be marrying the most reliable and loving husband in the world!"

"It's not the groom I was talking about, it's the _unexpected __**guests**_."

"hmmm! Ino! You just _had_ to remind me about the fact that **they** are here! Thanks a bunch ino!" I groaned out, riffling my gown a bit.

"Stay still, you're ruining the dress! And I thought you said you won't have cold feet? Besides, just think about the reason why you want to push through with this wedding _whether_ **they** are here or not."

"Right, you're absolutely right ino, I should just focus on Naruto, he's the reason why I'm going to through this and facing my fears. Though I must say I might just have second thoughts since _you_ of all people gave me this brilliant advice!"

"Shut up, forehead! Oh and be ready, the wedding march is starting—WAIT! I thought I told the pianist to play '_Ave Maria'_ when it's only the brides maids and _then_ play the wedding march! That stupid –beep- of a –beep-! ARGH! Whatever let's just do this! Alright, I'm coming in! good luck, forehead!"

"yeah, yeah, pig, I just hope you don't trip and fall and embarrass yourself when no one catches you!" I shouted at her back, but she couldn't give much of a comeback because the doors were already opening….

"Are you ready for this?" asked Tsunade, my surrogate mother.

"Truthfully? No. but I will get over my fears, for Naruto."

"That's good, but what I can't comprehend is the reason behind Naruto inviting _them_ of all people to _your_ wedding with him, it's like he has a death wish or something, that brat."

"No, why would they want to kill Naruto? Things have been over for a while now and maybe they've moved on and that I'm only paranoid to be scared of seeing them again, and besides no need to start a quarrel over something as small as not being invited to my wedding, I'm sure that's what Naruto thinks too."I said, gaining confidence in my hopes that they have moved on and have their own families now. Maybe. While I saw Tsunade-shishou shake her head from side to side condescendingly.

But I didn't have much time to ponder more on my thoughts because before I knew it Tsunade-shishou already hooked her arms with mine and the double elegant white doors opened once again but this time I'm the one going to walk through it…

As we started to walk down the _ridiculously long aisle_ I remembered to smile at the guests and as I saw more familiar face like, iruka-sensei, kurenai-sensei, asuma-sensei, konohamaru, tenten and lee-they're such a sweet couple- and minato-san, naruto's dad, my smile grew and so did my confidence, they were all here supporting me in my wedding. But all of those thoughts came crashing down, along with my smile, when I saw them, Sasuke, Gaara, Neji, Deidara, Pein, there were so many of them scattered around the place that I couldn't spot all of them in time and before I knew it I was already being handed over to Naruto by Tsunade-shishou, while she gave me a reassuring smile, which meant that she has people set up everywhere to pounce on anyone who will object to my wedding. Then I turned to Naruto and he flashed me that prize winning smile of his and I remembered all over again why I will endure them, it's because I love Naruto. And I said so as such in our vows…

"Do you, Uzumaki Naruto, take, Haruno Sakura, as your lawfully wedded wife, through sickness and in health, for richer or for poorer, till death do you part?"

"HELL YEAH! I DO! OF COURSE I DO, I LOVE YOU SO MUCH SAKURA-CHAN!" I tried stifling my giggle when he said that, even after the ruckus made by stopping the people against our wedding- Tsunade wasn't kidding when she said she hired people to tackle anyone who will try to object to the wedding- he was still as spirited as ever, one of the things I love most about him.

"Do you, Haruno Sakura, take, Uzumaki Naruto, as your lawfully wedded husband, through sickness and in health, for richer or for poorer, till death do you part?" after the priest said that I turned to Naruto and saw him busting out his puppy dog eyes, the same ones he busted out when he proposed to me, as if I would have said no, even without the eyes, he was just so ADORABLE!

"Yes! I do! I love you too, you baka!" I said as I was already leaning towards him, then our lips met, his warm, firm ones on mine, molding together….

"uh… you…may kiss…the bride….er I guess in this case the groom?"

And that day was one of the happiest days of my life, albeit all of the 'problems' that came up that day, it was all overshadowed by the happiness I felt when I finally married the person who I will spend the rest of my life with….

_When you're 40 and someone says "I love you" it'll be your rebound after divorce._

I felt warm, safe and most of all _loved_, right as of now in his arms. It's Ironic really I thought that Naruto was the person I was going to spend the rest of my life with, yet here I am in the arms of another man, who's giving me comfort and safety, instead of him. But I guess I should have expected it, it had already happened to me a lot of times.

**Heart Break**

But I was foolish to think that Naruto is above the other men I've been with in my life, to think that he would never waver in his loyalty and love, to think that he wouldn't leave me and that he was a person that will never cheat on me and can always be trusted.

But he proved me wrong, proved to me that I am more naïve than I would like to admit, because he **did** cheat on me, he **did** betray my trust and he **did** leave me, my heart, frozen in ice then shattered into a million pieces when he drove the final nail.

He cheated on me, with _hinata,_ hinata of all people, one of my best friends, one of the people whom I thought was a loved one to me, who I could trust, but that was shattered too. More so that their affair has been happening for already over a year when I found out, and Naruto and I just recently got married by two years, already, do you know how much that hurt? So I arranged for the divorce papers that I thought I would never need and went to live with Tsunade-shishou for awhile, to hide the fact that, I cried over that every single night. He refused to sign the papers for a couple of months and throughout those months, he continuously begged for forgiveness, and I was tempted too. To forgive him and just forget, to just go back to normal, as if it never happened. But I didn't, because I knew, I won't be happy anymore and that my sadness might grow into hatred and I might turn bitter and just be miserable inside all throughout my life, while I smiled outside, to know that I will go back and be with someone who betrayed me and crushed my heart, to see that face every single day and remember all those painful feeling, so in the end he gave in and I got set free, but sometimes I thought maybe I should have just accepted his apology and things would have come back to normal.

And as if to _really_ kill me a few months after our divorce, he was already getting married, again! And this time to hinata, and they even had the nerve to invite me to be one of the bride's maids, and knowing me- since I'm such a masochist- I accepted and went.

But there was something good that came out of it, it's that, at that same event that brought pain and sadness upon my already broken heart, I found _him_, the one that could mend my broken heart and try to repair it, his name was sasori, he had red hair so deep that it could pass up as dried blood and he had those hazel eyes that was always half lidded, portraying boredom but behind them was _anything_ but boredom.

And now I look over him he was so beautiful, ethereal even, but what was most important was that he's the one who will always be there for me now. At first I was frustrated with myself, I mean falling in love AGAIN! Just right after I got dumped, and at that time all I could think of was that _I am such a masochist._

But trust him and love him, for he has gone through what I've gone through and even if we part I know that he will always love me.

"You know I love you, right?"

"Always."

"Good." He said, though obviously waiting for something….

"Yes, I love you too, now sleep sasori, it's only 5 in the morning!"

_When you're 50 and someone says "I love you" you'll ask "__**why?**__"_

I loved sasori so dearly, too much even, but I know that if he were to be here he would say I do not love him much more than he loves me, and then we would have a full blown argument over it and I'd most likely just give in to him….

I miss him. If only I wasn't so stubborn, over such a silly argument that we didn't even remember, maybe, just maybe he would still be with counting our gray hairs as we grew old together, until we died in our sleep. But fate was cruel, like any other times to those whom I love.

It was a rainy day, puddles scattered in the streets, as you here the pitter patter of footsteps splashing through slippery sidewalks, we were having another silly argument and I was a tad bit upset so I went out to cool off a bit, walking around, lost in my thoughts, but suddenly I was taken out of my musings when someone screamed my name and I felt a bright light on my side, it was head lights of a truck, and then I froze in fear as I realized, it was sasori calling out my name and that I was about to be hit by a truck, right in front of the eyes of my love one. As I tried to take one last look at sasori who was running towards my direction, before my inevitable demise, I saw pure unadulterated horror in his eyes and that was the last thing I saw before my vision blacked out.

The next time I awoke, I was in the hospital, bandaged everywhere as far as eye can see, and the first thing I thought of was that why was I alive? And the next thing I did was scream, demanding the nurses as to where sasori is and they all gave me pitiful sad looks, I didn't need those! I needed sasori! I wailed and wailed, I refused to eat and do anything besides weeping and mourning for Sasori's death.

He died, instead of me; he hugged me one last time, giving me the comfort I so craved, for the last time.

He died for me to live, and when I realized that, I quickly corrected my errors, I realized that he wouldn't want me throw away my life, the same life he exchanged with his own….

And so I became, old as old as a 50 year old single woman is. I became old, alone, because I refused to be with anyone else anymore. Or is it that I feared that no one would want me anymore, for I am old already, way passed my prime, who would want me? No one absolutely no one.

So I spend my days in this hill where you can see everything from the clouds lazily passing by to the children playing around and flying kites in the park near the hill. This hill is where I think about what I learned in my life, what I've gone through, what I wanted to do, but couldn't and basically anything that I could Moore about, for I am old and alone with nothing better to do.

But something was different today, I thought as I was working my way up the hill. And I was because right there where I usually sit; under the shade of the peach blossom tree was a man, presumably as old as I, seemingly watching the clouds….. how…. Peculiar but curious too.

"Hello there" I said, just to let my presence known

The only reply I got was a grunt that seemed awfully familiar….

And so I just ended up sitting next to him on the patch of grass on the hill and gazed where he so intently looked at, the clouds. Now he seemed even more familiar, for some reason I feel as if I know this person….

"That cloud to your right, it looks like an apple." And when I looked, to my great surprise, it did look like an apple. I also wanted to point out shapes and objects that clouds look like. And so I guess you could say it turned out into a full blown contest of cloud shaped item spotting or whatever you want to call it.

After a few hours the sun was already setting, painting the sky along with the clouds different shades of red, orange, pink, and purple, it was truly beautiful, like art, like what sasori used to adore…..

I felt my eyes start to prick with tears but I didn't want to cry in front of the strange man, so I hurriedly turned around and pretended to fix my things when he said…

"Look that one looks like a torn heart….." he said pointing to the cloud but when I looked his finger managed to catch and wipe away my tears……

"Don't cry, because I will always be here for you from now on, because now that I've found you, I won't ever let you go, not anymore…."

"huh?" was my smart answer

"I love you, sakura. I always have and I always will."

When he said those words I would have normally scream or maybe say what's wrong with him or just run away but instead, I just asked

"Why?"

"I won't say, I love you because you because you're beautiful or kind, I'll say I love you because I love the way I act when I'm with you."

And that's when everything hit me like a boulder, even harder than if that truck had hit me. I wanted to say so many things at the same time to him but instead I opted to say,

"I love you too, shikamaru."

Because it was true, he was there all along but I just didn't notice, through sickness and in health, for richer or for poorer, till we don't part, that's what we had as some sort of unspoken oath to each other….

And so Haruno Sakura, officially became Nara Sakura at age 50 till the day she died and was put into the fresh tomb beside her husbands who also died just days before…..

And in a journal where she wrote all about her journey through life, her last entry was that:

_I thought that there was no such thing as true love or a happy ending, but there was, I only thought that because I was impatient, still a child in the journey of life, because every time I fall and break my heart, it becomes stronger, wiser and more understanding of the journey that is life, I hope to pass this knowledge onto others, though having this knowledge does not necessarily mean you will understand right away, for you have to go through the obstacles I've gone through or even harder than those I've experienced, but know this:_

_When you fall and get hurt you must not stay down and cry, but you must stand up, be strong and be patient for you'll have in life what you want from it as long as you never lose hope and faith._

_A fellow traveler through the road called life,_

_*Nara Sakura_

**T H E J O U R N E Y E N D S H E R E .**

**Hope you like it! Review please!**


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